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Orange County resident Nicholas Fontaine, age 23, of Monroe, on Monday, Jan. 24, said Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler.
According to the District Attorney's office, Fontaine pleaded guilty to second-degree arson in connection with starting the fire last year which took place in the early morning hours of Wednesday, May 5 on Juniper Drive in Monroe.
Fontaine's former girlfriend and her family were in the house at the time the fire erupted, damaging the outside of the residence and destroying a car in the driveway of the residence, the DA's Office said.
Prosecutors argued that at about 1:40 a.m. on May 5, Fontaine and another man had repeatedly poured gasoline over a 2018 Hyundai Elantra automobile belonging to Fontaine’s former girlfriend which was parked next to her residence.
A Ring camera recording showed the car being set ablaze and the fire quickly spread to the siding of the residence, which became engulfed in flames.
Fontaine admitted that he had reason to believe that the residence was occupied at the time the fire was started. No one was injured in the incident, the DA's Office said.
In October, Emanuel Watson, age 24, of Monroe, admitted acting in concert with Fontaine in setting the fire.
Watson was sentenced in December to five years in state prison, and five years post-release supervision, in connection with his actions in helping Fontaine set the fire.
Hoovler thanked the New York State Police for their investigation of the case and the fire companies who responded to the fire.
“Anyone that would set an occupied house on fire merely because he is angry at a former intimate partner who lives there is clearly a danger to the community and should be incarcerated,” said Hoovler.
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